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Absolutely amazingly fabulous
This book looks at Shakespeare in a completely different light to anything else I have ever read and it totally caught my attention. It looks all the different types of deaths in his works, the science behind them, how it works in terms of staging and how death has changed over time. Something that was ordinary in Shakespeare's time may be completely different now and this book looks at that in a way that captures the readers interest
I found this book gripping, with some of the phrasing making me chuckle! I will admit that at times it was heavy going but the author has clearly done their research and the book comes across as easy to read with any conclusions backed up. I gave me a different view on Shakespeare and probably actually made me more interested in reading/seeing the plays as now I have a different interpretation which has made me curious
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Shakespeare but also anyone who is interested in life an especially death in his time and how that translates to modern interpretations

A fascinating insight into science and death in Shakespearean england. A great mix of history, science and Shakespeare, this book is full of facts and information but written in an easily accessible way. I may know more than I knew I needed to about certain diseases, but it also provides interesting context to some of my favourite plays!

I really enjoyed learning more about Shakespeare's plays and there were numerous "aha" moments when the author made you look at oft-quoted lines differently!
The connections to social history and science of disease were interesting and the text is easy to read for enjoyment.

This is a well researched book and the author clearly knows Shakespeare well. I enjoyed reading about all the different ways there were to die in the plays and found the historical context for these fascinating too.
Thenonly thing i didn't lone was the opening chapter about Shakespeare and his contemporaries injust wanted to get to tue death!
A good read for anyone interested in Shakespeare or history

Death By Shakespeare is a (very slightly) in depth look at the death’s within Shakespeare’s work. From disease and plague, to what was most likely the poison used in Romeo & Juliet, plus – is it even realistic? There’s mix of science, humour, all analysing death during Shakespeare’s lifetime and the differences in modern society.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read, it was incredibly knowledgeable and not only analysed the death scenes, how likely there were, but also a look at Elizabethan / Jacobean England, how these death scenes would have been portrayed on stage, and everything in between. It was incredibly insightful, my only (small) gripe is that there’s a large chunk that focuses on Shakespeare’s historical plays, and as someone who hasn’t read those it got a little boring and confusing around those areas. But that is down to my own ignorance. Whilst Kathryn Harkup does summarise and explain the plot and storyline relevant to the parts she is analysing, it would be much more enjoyable and insightful for those who have read those plays and have a deeper understanding.

I also read this all in one go for a readathon, which I wouldn't suggest. It does get lengthy at times, but even still it is incredibly enjoyable. The insight and thought blew my mind. One part that stands out is the short analysis of what Jacobean producers/costume designers would have used for fake blood.

I'd highly recommend for those who adore shakespeare's works, and those who love gore.

I want a physical copy of this book, the cover art looks amazing and I want to have it on my shelf to show it off. The book was great, interesting and clearer than a lot that I have read before. I enjoyed this a lot. Would recommend.

I definitely need to get hold of a physical copy of this and all Harkup's books! She's such a good writer and makes it so easy to fall in love with her book!

Review: Death by Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts by Kathryn Harkup.
In Death By Shakespeare, Kathryn Harkup,an expert on the more gruesome side of science, turns her expertise to William Shakespeare and the creative methods he used to kill off his characters. Is death by snakebite really as serene as Cleopatra made it seem? How did Juliet appear dead for 72 hours only to be revived in perfect health? Can you really kill someone by pouring poison in their ear? How long would it take before Lady Macbeth died from lack of sleep? Harkup investigates what actual events may have inspired Shakespeare, what the accepted scientific knowledge of the time was, and how Elizabethan audiences would have responded to these death scenes.

From the beginning, this book is a well thought out and fascinating read. Packed with morbid curiousities, this book explores many ways in which people do die in these plays and does it in a fun way, I guess you could say. Looking at how different characters died, I truly found the parts around Henry VI in particular quite interesting as we can see the links somewhat between the here and now (not unlike the crime dramas we see today).

What I most enjoyed about this book is how they connected the plots to the everyday life of the people who lived during these times. Thinking about all the death in Shakespeare, you don’t really think about how normal it was to see people being executed in those times when reading his plays now and how they would react to that on stage particularly when they were seeing the real deal off stage. The background and research is just so perfectly done and keeps you curious and intrigued and slightly worried why you are (haha!).
An incredibly intriguing read, if this is kind of thing that fascinates you, I highly recommend.

Now I shall exit (no bear fortunately!).

(I received an arc from Netgalley for honest review).

This is a gory, grotesque, and really interesting look into how William Shakespeare killed off many (many) of his characters. From illness to murder (by various methods); and from suicide to dying of strong emotion, all types of death in his plays are covered. The scientific details of how these deaths may have possibly come about are fascinating too.

*I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was a little more medical-based than I had expected and I certainly know more about syphilis than I had ever hoped to know but it was definitely an interesting read. Kathryn Harkup clearly knows her science and her history (and her Shakespeare!) and it shows throughout the book. It was a little dry for my tastes but it's very far out of my usual reading zone and I'm still glad I read it.

Be warned, Death by Shakespeare is not for the faint of heart or at least the faint of stomach. My stepmother, as a nurse and history fan, will be getting a copy for her birthday but I am happy to have read it the one time! It was certainly educational but not for those of a delicate constitution, like myself.

My only real critique was that there were spots where it felt a little circular or repetitive. I felt there were times where I was told the same piece of information a second or third time. Though I suppose that if you ever wanted to use this more as a reference book that might be quite handy. But to read straight through it could be frustrating on occasion.

But if you love history and/or Shakespeare and/or medicine, and don't mind your books being a little more ... innards-heavy this could be the book for you.

Enormously Entertaining, Hugely Informative......
Enormously entertaining, hugely informative and written in lively fashion with a dry wit. Whizzing through the literary deaths as presented by the Bard and a comparison to the reality of the times. Science combines with enlightening storytelling to provide a thoroughly engaging read. A worthy addition to this author’s excellent first book ‘A is for Arsenic‘.

This book opens up with information on Shakespeare, who he was, where he was born, how he came to become the man that we all know. It's an in-depth but very interesting narration of his life.

There is a chapter on the famous theatres that his plays were shown and also the story behind the costumes, something I had never known before.

As we get further into the book we take a look at how some of the characters died in the plays, was it realistic and believable?? From swords and blades, to poison and heartbreak. This covers everything. I loved the descriptions and the science behind the deaths that showed maybe Shakespeare knew more than he let on.

This is a very well written and very interesting book. I enjoyed every moment of it and I will be recommending it to my friends. I've also added it to my book wish-list. This is a book I'll read and reread again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
~
As a long-term lover of Shakespeare and his characters, this book was right up my street. Kathryn Harkup takes her readers on a fantastic journey through Elizabethan and Jacobean London, intertwining science, social history and literature.

She starts by laying out Shakespeare’s life and his consequent rise to fame, giving us an insight into the living conditions he lived in and setting the stage for his later plays (pun intended..!). This book, whilst incredibly academic and insightful, isn’t written pretentiously and is engaging and easy to follow, splitting it into different methods of death within the plays. There is a lot of information presented, but it is explained clearly despite relying on a lot of medical history and theory. I loved how each death in Shakespeare had an explanation with it.

Harkup uses social history to explain how audiences would have reacted to certain deaths and lines, helping to give even more significance to scenes that a modern audience may overlook. She discusses how plays would have been staged, from the use of blood, falling from heights, body parts, and how to portray large battles. I found this fascinating as it adds an extra layer to each play as you read it. Shakespeare used real life events within his plays, and Harkup helps to dispel any misinformation and manipulation of history he used to create a more dramatic play.

The only negative I have about this book is that some information is repeated in different sections which made it feel like I was re-reading sections. It is always relevant, but it felt tedious during those parts, maybe a small reference would have worked better?

Overall, I thought this book was a fascinating insight into Shakespeare’s plays, his life, and the methods of death that were used within his plays. I was surprised at how accurate a lot of them were and the detail that Harkup went into to dispell the false science Shakespeare sometimes used. I rated this book 4 stars and will be reading more Shakespeare plays soon so I can appreciate the contexts of each.

There's a lot of death in Shakespeare's work. Lots. There are crazy deaths, deaths off stage, deaths witnessed, and deaths commented on. There are outlandish deaths that are hard to stage and there are plays that are ridden with death - Titus Andronicus is nothing but death and more death.

Kathryn Harkup has written a fantastic guide to deaths in Shakespeare's work, and has infused it with actual science and biology, which makes a fascinating - and gruesome - read. I learned a lot. And I winced a lot. Harkup doesn't shrink from the darker side of things, but she's a compelling and knowledgable narrator.

I went away from this book with the urge to start again on Shakespeare's works, complete with my knowledge of the plausibility of the outlandish deaths in Macbeth (there actually was a King Macbeth, but he was nothing like how he was portrayed - he reigned for 17 years - who knew?), in Pericles, in King Lear, in Romeo and Juliet and many other plays. There are also bears, lightning strikes and incest. Well worth a read.

This is a fascinating and well researched account of the ways Shakespeare killed his characters - along with a very informative history of life during those times. I enjoyed this surprisingly entertaining book very much indeed.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very misleading in the best way possible. I thought it was going to be strictly a discussion about the deaths in Shakespeare’s plays, but the first few chapters worked as a thorough contextualization of the Bard’s life, the Elizabethan theater the overall 16-17th century’s everyday life. From my inicial conception, I believed this to be a book for Shakespeare aficionados, but you can definitely pick this up even if you don’t know much about him or his plays. The author does a wonderful job of walking the reader through the historic facts. The first few chapters covered about just as much as any other biography you can find. Also, a lot of historic information was developed throughout the book. There is a really interesting table in the appendix of a summary of the deaths in Shakespeare’s plays. I highly recommend this one!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for granting me an early digital copy!

Death By Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts is a fun romp through the multitude of methods Shakespeare utilised to kill off his characters, and although it's been quite some time since I've read one of his classic plays I thought this sounded original and intriguing. It turned out to be right up my street as both a true crime and fictional crime enthusiast. Scientist (chemist) Kathryn Harkup pens a fascinating and outstanding study in which she analyses the gory details of death. If you're easily disturbed or faint of heart you may wish to take a pass on this as Harkup's descriptions are extremely in-depth and she doesn't have any qualms about this at all, which made it even more captivating to me. A macabre masterpiece that not only looks at the various methods of killing The Bard employed but also the rather hazardous living conditions the Elizabethans/Jacobeans were accustomed to, including recurrent plagues, executions, weather conditions, syphilis, rudimentary health care, death in childbirth, tuberculosis and infected wounds.

Covering each manner of death a from scientific perspective Harkup addresses such varied methods as hanging, poisoning, burning at the stake, beheading, drowning, suicide, smothering and sword fights, to name a few. It's very much like a forensic investigation or episode of CSI and I feel it will appeal to a great many readers. Written in an engaging and refreshingly accessible fashion, I flew through the pages and then wished I had savoured it more. It is immensely compelling from the first page, as well as thorough and extensively researched; her riveting storytelling and dark, sardonic wit make for a superb read. All in all, this is an enjoyable and thoroughly entertaining book filled with intrigue and information. In my eyes, you simply can't ask for more than a book that both teaches you new information whilst amusing you in the process. It will not only appeal to lovers of William Shakespeare but to those who have an interest in the physiology of death. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Bloomsbury Sigma for an ARC.

I was fascinated by this book that I found engrossing and informative.
It's well written and well researched and I couldn't put it down.
An excellent read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

How realistic and accurate are the deaths and executions (both on and off stage) in Shakespeare? He had to compete with real executions and other bloodthirsty entertainments (which were free). Kathryn Harkup examines, in detail and from a 21st century point of view, all the deaths in Shakespeare's play. It is an interesting account, written in an easy to read style.

Would recommend to anyone interested in Shakespeare.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Sigma, and Netgalley for an advance copy.

When I requested this book, it was as someone both a lover of Shakespeare and of history. As with most of the population, I have a morbid fascination with death, especially in situations such as those covered by the famous Elizabethan and Jacobean writer.
I sat reading this on Shakespeare's birthday last week, and it was a lovely way to spend the day. From the sublime to the ridiculous, looking through the history of deaths by The Bard was an extraordinary journey. Well written, engaging, amusing and utterly brilliant, I couldn't recommend this book more.
Whether you are curious about death, curious about literature, or curious about Shakespeare, this book is an essential to your book collection. The author has a strong narration which is easy to be captivated by, and I took so much away from this book, not only with my brain filled, but my face smiling.